In one of the
higher profile countywide races on Tuesday, Republican Prosecuting Attorney
Brian Gensel will be seeking his fourth term against a challenge from
Democrat Gary Germann.

Gensel, 57, was
first elected to the position in 2012, after serving 12 years as Chief
Deputy Prosecuting Attorney. Germann, 70, previously served one term as
elected Porter County Prosecuting Attorney (1978-82), worked for some 20
years as a Porter County Public Defender, and has since been a criminal
defense attorney in private practice.

Among his
achievements in office, Gensel notes that he and his staff have secured
convictions in their last 12 murder trials. Germann, on the other hand, told
the Chesterton Tribune that he has “successfully defended clients who
were innocent of the crimes they were charged with.

Of Germann, Gensel
said, “For the last 36 years my opponent has been attacking law-enforcement
investigations and defending these same criminals.” Germann, for his part,
put it this way: “Who better to prosecute a case than an attorney who has
defended the same kind of case?”

Judge, Porter
Superior

Court No. 2

In the race for the
bench of Porter Superior Court No. 2, Republican incumbent Jeffrey Clymer
faces a challenge from Democrat Clay Patton.

Clymer was
appointed to the bench by Gov. Holcomb in November 2017, to fill the vacancy
created by Judge Bill Alexa’s retirement.

Clymer, 57, has
tried more than 50 jury trials over his career in private practice. Patton,
49, points to his 25 years in practice and to his 15 years as a judge
pro-tem.

When asked by the
Tribune what the key issues in the race are, Clymer declined to
comment, citing the Code of Judicial Conduct which “prevents me from ‘making
any public statement that might reasonably be expected to impair the
fairness of a matter” pending in court. Patton responded to the same
question by pointing to the “opiate abuse crisis and the mental health
issues affecting our citizens.”